Redhill Aerodrome could still be redeveloped for housing in the future despite the borough council leader publicly opposing homes on the site.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council's Development Management Plan (DMP) outlines where homes could be built in the borough up to 2027 and was submitted to the government for inspection on May 18.

While the aerodrome is not listed among the proposed projects to meet the council's target for housebuilding during that period, it is the only site listed in the plan as being safeguarded for building homes on beyond 2027.

The DMP has not yet gone under the government microscope and minor amendments can still be made.

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Jonathan Essex, Green councillor for Redhill East, previously called on new council leader Mark Brunt to remove it from the DMP completely, after Cllr Brunt used his debut speech as leader to publicly state his opposition to developing it.

But at an executive committee meeting on June 21, where the power to make amendments to the DMP during the government examination was delegated to a council officer, the aerodrome remained very much in place as a safeguarded site to build on post-2027.

A plane at Redhill Aerodrome (Image: Sean Aidan)

Cllr Essex said: "The council leader has taken the first opportunity to continue as they were before. They talk about it as if they care but they've bottled it and haven't actually done anything to save the aerodrome in the long run.

"The sites being used right now are only big enough to meet their needs up to 2027 but beyond that they need more land to build on the green belt. Redhill is where they will go and Redhill Aerodrome is the only site that's come up."

But Cllr Essex said the failure to protect the aerodrome beyond 2027 would not sit well with residents.

He added: "People don't like the fact that these politicians are saying they're against building on the green belt but they're still proposing it and they can't blame the government, who are the same party as themselves.

"What we need to do is use brownfield sites with high density housing to meet the government quotas instead of just building on green belt land."